Blessings and my deep wish for you to have an Easter that is truly a time of
restoration!

I was meditating on the resurrection as told by Luke yesterday and it hit me
that there is an amazing mix of both history and mystery there....

1. HISTORY

There IS real history....there are facts and details. There are real places
and real people who saw and experienced real things at specific times. They
saw Jesus eat, and heard him speak. The tomb was empty.

There was history.

And that means that our faith is far more than just some nice ideas or
wonderful spiritual "truths".

On the other hand....

2. MYSTERY

There is something MORE than history too...there is a deep mystery in the
story. The two disciples going to Emmaus were somehow kept from recognizing
the
mysterious "stranger" beside them, even though he made their hearts burn when
he taught them the scriptures. And Jesus suddenly appears in a room, out of
nowhere...and he vanishes from their sight after breaking bread...and he is
mysteriously made known to them as they break bread.

In the "west" I have heard people say that it does not matter if the
resurrection ACTUALLY happened, that what matters is the "truth" of it...that
there
is new life for us. Such people often say that the resurrection is MORE than
history.

Well, yes in fact, it IS more than history. But it is not less! That
is....for the mystery to mean anything, it has to also be history. And for the
history to be understood fully, we have to see the mystery that is BIGGER than
just the historical details.

Jesus has risen! He is alive...but this reality is far greater than simply
saying "he is not dead". Something new and amazing and powerful and wonderful
happened on Easter....a new KIND of life burst forth and is already beginning
to touch and transform us all.

This happened in history...but it is bigger than history!

3. TODAY

One thing I noticed in Luke 24 is that Jesus seemed to appear to his
disciples in the middle of very normal, very average things. They were walking
and
talking or eating. In the middle of normal life, in the middle of normal
"history", the "mystery" arrived and became known.

That gives me a feeling of excitement and of wonder and of, well, mystery.
Today may seem to be a normal day. Today I will eat and talk to people and
walk. Today I might have several very normal tasks to do like laundry or
banking
or cooking or a meeting. But it is in daily normal events like that Jesus
'appears', and we meet the amazing mystery that he is alive.

May you and I each meet him today as we talk and walk and eat.....

Bless you!

Kevin